All Scripture quotations below, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW
INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission
of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

Evidence that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
(Mormon Church or LDS) has a Christian Foundation

Compiled by Cal Fullerton

How can the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of Salt Lake City,
Utah, live up to its claim to be a Christian organization when they teach so
many eccentric and extra-biblical doctrines?

It is because the LDS does adhere to the essential message of the New
Testament -- not only the teachings that we all must adhere to for salvation
in Christ (for example, “God exists”), but more significantly, teachings that
effectuate, or bring about, salvation.

It is also because all their false teachings concern nonessential issues.
Nonessentials are principles that may be important for spiritual growth but
on which someone may be in error without losing their status as a forgiven,
born-again, blood-bought, heaven-bound child of God.

The vital question is, “Does the Mormon Church encourage people to make
Jesus Christ their personal Lord and Savior?” The answer is unequivocally
yes.

Please take the crash course of fast facts below that show the Bible’s
essential doctrines in juxtaposition to corresponding LDS doctrines. Key
words are in dark red.

Bible“‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved’” (Acts 16:31).

Mormon Church“Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel.
It is necessary to our salvation” (Gospel Principles [Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1997], 117).

“Salvation cometh to none . . .
except it be through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ” (Mosiah 3:12, Book of Mormon, quoted in Gospel Principles, 117).

Bible“Unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:5).

Mormon Church“We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: . . . second,
Repentance (Joseph Smith, The Articles of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1:4).

Bible“‘Everyone who confesses the
name of the Lord must turn
away from wickedness’” (2
Timothy 2:19).

Mormon Church“We must forsake our sins.”
(Gospel Principles, 124).

Bible“And if anyone does not have the
Spirit of Christ, he does not
belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9).

Mormon Church“We believe that the first
principles and ordinances of the
Gospel are: . . . fourth, Laying on
of hands for the gift of the Holy
Ghost” (Articles of Faith, 1:4).

Bible“For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons
of God” (Romans 8:14 KJV).

Mormon Church“It is the Spirit that is the most
effective teacher in any given
situation. . . . We should . . .
carefully listen for and record
the unspoken impressions given
by the Holy Ghost” (Daniel K. Judd,
“Nourished by the Good Word of God,”
Ensign, Nov. 2007, 94-95).
“The adversary labors to dull our
sensitivity to the promptings of
the Spirit. . . . When we invite the
Holy Ghost to fill our minds. . . .
we feel strengthened, filled with
peace and joy. We possess
spiritual energy and
enthusiasm.” (Elder Keith K. Hilbig,
“Quench Not the Spirit Which Quickens
the Inner Man,” Ensign, Nov. 2007, 37-
38).

Bible“If anyone acknowledges that
Jesus is the Son of God, God lives
in him and he in God.” (1 John
4:15).

Mormon Church“We believe in God, the Eternal
Father, and in His Son, Jesus
Christ” (Articles of Faith, 1:1).

Bible“Everyone who believes that
Jesus is the Christ is born of
God” (1 John 5:1).

Bible“This is how you can recognize
the Spirit of God: Every spirit
that acknowledges that Jesus
Christ has come in the flesh is
from God” (1 John 4:2).

Mormon Church“‘The Word was made flesh’. . . .
the Word is Jesus Christ” (James
E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ [Salt Lake
City: The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, 1981], 10).
“‘[Jesus] shall come down from
heaven among the children of
men, and shall dwell in a
tabernacle of clay’” (Mosiah 3:5,
Book of Mormon, quoted in Gospel
Principles, 63).

Bible“This is how the birth of Jesus
Christ came about: His mother
Mary was pledged to be married
to Joseph, but before they came
together, she was found to be
with child through the Holy
Spirit” (Matthew 1:18).

Mormon Church“And behold, he shall be born of
Mary . . . she being a virgin . . .
who shall be overshadowed and
conceive by the power of the
Holy Ghost, and bring forth a
son, yea, even the Son of God”
(Alma 7:10, Book of Mormon).
“Jesus was born of a virgin
named Mary” (Gospel Principles,
63).

Bible“If you confess with your mouth,
‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in
your heart that God raised him
from the dead, you will be saved”
(Romans 10:9).

Bible“God presented him [Jesus] as a
sacrifice of atonement, through
faith in his blood” (Romans 3:25).

Mormon Church“The Savior atoned for our sins
by suffering in Gethsemane and
by giving his life on the cross. . .
. We accept Christ’s atonement
by placing our faith in him”
(Gospel Principles, 73, 75).
“He [Jesus] took our sins upon
himself” (Gospel Principles, 19).

Many of the Bible verses above tell us that you will be saved if you believe
or do what the verses say. Therefore, the corresponding and agreeing
LDS quotations give us evidence that the LDS is Christian.

If certain other Mormon teachings seem to contradict what has been
spelled out here, our next move should be to interview LDS
representatives--such as missionaries--and ask them, “Which is it? You
can’t believe both.”

I can tell you that their other teachings do not contradict what they say
in the above quotations--but don’t trust me! The Bible says, “Don’t put
your trust in mere humans” (Isaiah 2:22, NLT). I suggest you do your own
investigation and trust the Lord Jesus to guide you with His Holy Spirit.

Insurance Round

The following comparisons of Mormon beliefs to Bible verses constitute
an insurance round--confirmations of the evidence already presented. For
years, I personally confirmed and reviewed the Christian core of the LDS
over and over again. I had to do this because my well-meaning fellow
evangelicals as well as the devil himself tried to cause me to doubt what
God had revealed to me.

Bible“For by grace are ye saved
through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God”
(Ephesians 2:8 KJV).

Mormon Church“The Apostle Paul taught that we
can’t save ourselves; we need
the Lord’s grace: [and then they
go on to quote the very Bible
verse I’ve quoted] ‘For by grace
are ye saved through faith; and
that not of yourselves: it is the
gift of God: Not of works, lest
any man should boast’” (no author,
“We Believe,” Ensign, Mar. 2008, 56).

Bible“All have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Mormon Church“Except for Jesus Christ . . .
everyone who has lived upon the
earth has sinned” (Gospel
Principles, 122).

Bible“For what I received I passed on
to you as of first importance:
that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures, that
he was buried, that he was raised
on the third day according to the
Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

Mormon Church“The fundamental principles of
our religion are the testimony of
the Apostles and Prophets [of
the LDS], concerning Jesus
Christ, that He died, was buried,
and rose again the third day, and
ascended into heaven; and all
other things which pertain to our
religion are only appendages to
it” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph
Smith, quoted in Spencer J. Condie, “The
Fall and Infinite Atonement,” Ensign,
Jan. 1996, 22).

To fully understand LDS people, we should know that they often redefine
common Bible terms. This is why even direct quotations from official LDS
publications can be deceptive and often are deceptive when anti-Mormon
non-Mormons generate the quotations. I’ve done my best to avoid any
such deception in the comparisons above (my knowledge of “Mormonese”
enables me to do this).

Note: Please don’t confuse the 13-million-strong Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
assessed on this website, with so-called “Mormon fundamentalists” who, although they number
fewer than 50,000, often get more media attention because of their practice of polygamy.

Sources
Joseph Smith, The Articles of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, translated by Joseph Smith (Salt
Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981) is used alongside the
Bible as scripture.

Ensign is an official magazine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Gospel Principles (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1997) is
used in Sunday school classes.

James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, 1981). James Talmage was one of the twelve apostles of the Church.